NEWS OF THE DAY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 227, 24 September 1943, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY

What to Eat "Go into any restaurant in the city and you will find girls making a meal of white bread, cakes and such things," said Dr. Turbott in a health talk to Wellington Rotarians. "They would be much better nourished if thev preferred wholemeal bread, a bit "of cheese and a glass of milk." Equinoctial Gales Wattle trees along the waterfront road in Auckland have suffered severely in the equinoctial gales of the past few days. Between Orakei Basin and the Maori village, where these trees help to bind the cliffs and prevent slips, several have been uprooted, and in other cases heavy branches have come down. ■Huts as Residences "We have got in first, and certainly now is the time to take action before tire position gets out of handj" was the remark made at the ggeetiag of the Hutt County Council rWteen the question of the utilisation ik Army huts was mentioned in a report. "The matter has already been "referred to the Counties' Association. Alter the war, said the report, many -prefabricated huts will become available for private use, but they did not comply with the county council's by-laws and could not be allowed to be used as residences. Oaf of the Storm

The very stormy conditions last I night were of the kind that political candidates blame for poor attendances at their meetings. At one suburban picture theatre several s -electors were scattered among the seats, shivering a little and listening |l to the rain pelting down on the '' roof—and, of course, to the candidate too, —when a young woman walked in, dripping wet and bundled up in an over-sized man's overcoat. Walking calmly down the aisle, she removed the coat, placed it over a seat and then sat down and removed ,her shoes. This done, she peeled off her stockings and hung these over the seat also! The candidate tried not to notice her, but she provided comic ; . relief for the audience. "Some of Your Spoons , * "You will find in this package some of your spoons. They were I among some cutlery in our camp. I Having a business of my own, I I understand what people are like with regard to other pepple's property." This is the wording of a § note" which arrived with four spoons, j wrapped in brown paper, and adr~"icLressed to the proprietor of a Wellington restaurant. When questioned, the proprietor said it was now impossible to serve metal spoons because the stock in hand had been stolen, though each one was stamped with the name of the restaurant. In serving tea, they now had to use the wooden spoons ':- which hitherto were associated with I ice cream.

Women Smokers A new angle on the tobacco and cigarette shortage, which appears to have become chronic in Invercargill, was provided by a wholesale merchant who told a reporter that he thought the shortage was largely due to the fact that so many women smoked nowadays. He said there had certainly been a considerable reduction in the quantities of tobacco and cigarettes coming forward to Invercargill, but it was not as great as might be thought from the persistent scarcity of stocks in tobacconists' shops. Against the reduction in supplies had to be placed the fact that a large number of men were away at the war. These two factors might have almost balanced one another but for the fact that women seemed to smoke as much as men.

Not for Sale Members of the public have discovered that they are unable to purchase copies of the electoral roll this election as they have been able to in the past. .This is probably due to the shortage of paper, although, as one member of the public said this morning, there is more information in an electoral roll than in the majority of political pamphlets, soon to become valueless. Electoral rolls are available for public perusal. Radio Officer Deserts A radio officer, aged 22, admitted in the Magistrates' Court, Wellington, having deserted from an overseas ship, and was sent to prison for a month. It was stated the owners of the ship regarded the offence as serious and that a substitute operator had had to be taken from an essential industry. He would have to go to England and back at considerable expense. The Eadio officer said the treatment he had received aboard the ship had led to his deserting it. Women and Elections

Orderly elections, now a commonplace in New Zealand, were credited to the refining influence of women suffrage by the male author of a small book on that subject, published in 1905, a dozen years after women were enfranchised. His language is amusingly prim. "It is no exaggeration to say," he wrote, "that the presence of women has fairly transformed the elections. The riotous horseplay of former days has disappeared, and election day, with its flowers and gay dresses, has become a semi-festival, bright and decorous." Spring Shows

With the season for spring flower shows and sales of work approaching committees and organisations around Auckland are grappling with the problems of maintaining the variety of their attractions under wartime conditions. In needlework, fancy and cookery sections shortages of materials limit the scope of women workers, while coupons and rationing restrict purchases of stocks for the stalls. It is expected that in the circumstances there will be more reliance than usual on produce and on novelty features which can be easily arranged. Paintings or Presidents? The first meeting of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce in its new premises, Courthouse Lane, was held yesterday and members had hardly taken their seats when Mr. Seamen gave notice of motion to move that the hitherto custom of hanging framed photographs of past presidents of the chamber on the walls be discontinued. Mr. Spencer thought one or two good paintings would be more appreciated, but Mr. Sexton held to the old custom and preferred the pictures of past presidents. Mr. Poole thought that if photographs were to be hung then they should be of men who had done something for New Zealand. A decision should be made at next meeting. Left-handed Chain Slaughtermen

The value of left-handed men in a slaughterhouse chain was emphasised by a works manager when he told the No. 10 Armed Forces Appeal Board (Christchurch) that he was supporting the utilisation committee's recommendation to the board to leave a married man with one child in his present employment. The man was a left-handed flanker, his work consisting of clearing the skins from the carcases, and he had to use his knife in his left hand to skin the right flank. There was only one left-handed flanker on a chain and he had to deal with 430 carcases an hour. Only four men in the works, one of whom was ambidextrous, were capable of using the knife in the left hand.